Japan Press Weekly

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2011 March 23 - 29 [GREAT EAST JAPAN DISASTER]

‘Unprecedentedly huge state reconstruction project’ needed: Shii

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on March 28 visited disaster-stricken Asahi City in Chiba Prefecture and promised that he will press the government to carry out a post-disaster reconstruction project at an unprecedentedly large scale.

Pointing out the lack of compensation for disaster-hit small businesses and agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Shii stressed that “unprecedentedly huge state project” is needed for reconstruction.

Talking about the serious damages caused by radioactive substances from the Fukusima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant, Shii stated that he will urge the government to take charge of monitoring radioactive contamination in various locations and to frequently disclose the information to the public in order to prevent harmful rumors regarding the possible dangers of consuming agricultural products from spreading.

Shii also emphasized that the damage caused by radioactivity is a man-made disaster so Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the government must publicly announce that they will fully compensate for the damage including damage created by harmful rumors, and remove the added anxiety from farmers.

At an evacuation shelter, Shii listened to evacuees’ requests such as the request for temporary housing. Shii said, “I will make every effort to help rebuild people’s livelihoods, agriculture and fisheries, and will urge the government to raise the limit of support from the present three million yen for disaster victims whose houses were fully destroyed.”

The earthquake and tsunami hit Asahi City where 13 people killed and two are still unaccounted for. They also completely destroyed 427 houses and damaged 1,838 houses.

In the city, Shii met with Mayor Akechi Tadanao along with leaders of agricultural and fishery cooperatives, and visited evacuation centers. He handed over at each place donations the JCP collected for the victims.

At the Kaiso Fishery Cooperative, standing director Moribe Koichi told Shii that they still cannot go fishing since 17 boats were destroyed, 29 stranded are on the quay, and other 29 were damaged by the tsunami. Asking for support, the director added that the amount of damage to fishing boats and other facilities comes to nearly 400 million yen.

Mayor Akechi worried about the construction delay of temporary housing and stressed that efforts to help businesses restart will be important.

Head of the Chibamidori agricultural cooperative Suzuki Kazuo said that radioactive substances dispersed from the troubled Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant seriously affected farmers’ livelihoods there. According to him, the cooperative imposed a voluntary ban on 11 agricultural products. However, the harmful effects have spread to other items, causing prices to plunge. Suzuki said that farmers are worrying about whether the products they are about to produce can sell in the market.